Fluted vs. Non-Fluted

This is a discussion on Fluted vs. Non-Fluted within the Ruger 10/22 Rimfire forums, part of the Rifle & Shotgun Forum category; Kind of late to this game but I would not recommend goingn the non fluted route simply becasue of the weight. I built one of ...

Kind of late to this game but I would not recommend goingn the non fluted route simply becasue of the weight. I built one of my sons rifles we all have GM barrels and the non fluted it a lot heavier then the fluted in the same 18 inch that your are thinking about going I had the same thought why not save some money but now I wish I would have bought him the fluted in fact I wich I would have bought the super light barrels for all three of our builds yes more money up front but keep in mind that a well taken care of rifle will vastly out live the owner and well the extra money is worth it in the end just my two cents.....

Kind of late to this game but I would not recommend goingn the non fluted route simply becasue of the weight. I built one of my sons rifles we all have GM barrels and the non fluted it a lot heavier then the fluted in the same 18 inch that your are thinking about going I had the same thought why not save some money but now I wish I would have bought him the fluted in fact I wich I would have bought the super light barrels for all three of our builds yes more money up front but keep in mind that a well taken care of rifle will vastly out live the owner and well the extra money is worth it in the end just my two cents.....

Surprisingly yes and the difference in price I think was like 20/25 dollars. I didnít think that we would be able to tell and given that at least our rifles were all over $1000.00 once they were finished the money saved in the long run I donít believe is worth it. After we built ours I held a rifle with a tactical solutions barrel and man they are very light and from what I hear they shoot great. But this is just my thoughts I am sure they may be others that would say different but given the build again I would for sure get the fluted barrel. As far as the cooling I canít really tell that much of a difference though.

Surprisingly yes and the difference in price I think was like 20/25 dollars. I didnít think that we would be able to tell and given that at least our rifles were all over $1000.00 once they were finished the money saved in the long run I donít believe is worth it. After we built ours I held a rifle with a tactical solutions barrel and man they are very light and from what I hear they shoot great. But this is just my thoughts I am sure they may be others that would say different but given the build again I would for sure get the fluted barrel. As far as the cooling I canít really tell that much of a difference though.

Money spent has no correlation to weight expectations. How could it. Spending more just makes your wallet lighter. Hope this Tac-Sol one isn't being compared to a GM one in regard to weight since one's steel (or stainless) and the other is aluminum. Obviously the GM one would be heavier. Weight isn't a factor in the accuracy either. It's the chamber cut and matching the ammo to the gun.

Have 14 complete 10/22's here, with more to go. Have used aluminum, steel, stainless barrels of various styles, lengths and brands - everything for 16 aluminum to 20" steel. Have yet to find one that's so heavy as to be burdensome, or uncomfortable to hold/carry.

Fluted barrels are for looks and for selling firearms. Reduced weight and more surface to cool are qualities that gun makers claim. I don't shoot 'em til they get that hot and I actually like a little weight out front. My 2 cents on flutes.

These are from KIDDs FAQ section-Do flutes take away from accuracy?Fluting adds a great deal of cool*factor, but if ultimate accuracy is your goal, then stick with the standard*bull barrel.
**How heavy are your barrels?[20 inch � 3.5 lbs] [18 inch- 3.3 lbs][16.5 inch- 3.1 lbs] Subtract about four ounces if fluted.* Our 18 inch lightweight is 2 lbs and our 16.5*lightweight is about 1.14 lbs.

I just recently swapped my KIDD fluted barrel for their standard match bull barrel. Partly because I do want the most accuracy possible out of my rifle and partly because my wife wanted a fluted barrel for her rifle. I figured give her my fluted barrel and replace it with a new non fluted model. I'm not expecting a huge change in accuracy but I'll take anything I can get. It seems to me that ultimate accuracy is about maximizing every components potential...according to KIDD, a fluted barrel isn't doing that and so I went with the standard bull. I haven't been able to test the new barrel and compare group sizes yet, and even if they do improve, it will be hard to say if they are solely due to lack of fluting or not. Another reason that may be responsible is that for whatever reason, the new barrels chamber feels significantly tighter. It seems to be engraving the bullet more so than the old barrel, which didn't really seem to?

As far as the weight goes, I do believe I could feel a difference. It wasn't huge but after being VERY familiar with the weight of my rifle and switching barrels, it felt noticably heavier. Given that it's sole purpose is bench shooting, the extra weight is welcome.

Money spent has no correlation to weight expectations. How could it. Spending more just makes your wallet lighter. Hope this Tac-Sol one isn't being compared to a GM one in regard to weight since one's steel (or stainless) and the other is aluminum. Obviously the GM one would be heavier. Weight isn't a factor in the accuracy either. It's the chamber cut and matching the ammo to the gun.

Money does have a correlation to weight in that A fluted and non fluted barrel are different prices. A non fluted barrel is less enxpensive and a fluted barrel is more expensive so depending on your budget it may be a facter. I was simply pointing out that the money I saved in buying a nonfluted barrel was not wirth the money I saved in the price difference between the two... And yes the Tac-Sol was being compaied in weight incase a10jockey has never one he might not know the difference between the two.

As far as finding one that is so heavy as to be heavy as to be burdensome, or uncomfortable to hold/carry. I notice a huge difference after a days shooting 250-300 Gophers/Squirrels. The weight can for sure be a factor if you are rest shooting its not burdensome at all but then again how much fun is shooting a paper target over and over in the same hole?

Money does have a correlation to weight in that A fluted and non fluted barrel are different prices. A non fluted barrel is less enxpensive and a fluted barrel is more expensive so depending on your budget it may be a facter. I was simply pointing out that the money I saved in buying a nonfluted barrel was not wirth the money I saved in the price difference between the two... And yes the Tac-Sol was being compaied in weight incase a10jockey has never one he might not know the difference between the two.

As far as finding one that is so heavy as to be heavy as to be burdensome, or uncomfortable to hold/carry. I notice a huge difference after a days shooting 250-300 Gophers/Squirrels. The weight can for sure be a factor if you are rest shooting its not burdensome at all but then again how much fun is shooting a paper target over and over in the same hole?

If one's going apple:apple, perhaps the $ vs weight is in effect but not necessarily. One can spend more for a fluted barrel of Brand A then an unfluted of Brand B. That $ spent for the fluted barrel doesn't mean it's a better barrel just because of the flutes. I'd much rather spend the extra for a better barrel regardless of if it has flutes or not. Those ounces, both of them, still don't don't give any issues, even after a day of carrying/shooting.
How much fun is shooting paper in the same hole? Well, for some that's the whole idea behind these builds. If one's trying to go with better parts for performance, wouldn't accuracy - putting multiple shots in the same hole - be important? There's a difference between "minute-of-angle" and "minute-of-squirrel".

My Ruger 22/45 Mark III has the fluted barrel. I like the looks of it. I think it knocks a few ounces off on the front end which balances better with the lightweight polymer frame of the 22/45 (1911 style grip). For me, it balanced well and looked nice. AND it was the one on sale that day and the only one there with fiber optic sights so I grabbed it.

Side-by-side with a bull-barrel of the exact same firearm, I think there is a slight difference in balance. On a rifle, I doubt you'd notice the difference. Also, I can't see how the barrel would help dissipate heat unless you were firing hundreds and hundreds of rounds as fast as you possibly could with one magazine right after the other. Just my opinion.

Sorry I guess I did not mention that fact we have one 18 inch fluted GM and an 18 inch non fluted GM like I said it just my two cents but we cant for sure tell the firrerence and if we were to build those rifles over we would go with nothing but Fluted. My whole point was the few pennys saved between fluted and non fluted GM barrels is not worth it becasue of the weight. And as for the squirels if you can put hole after hole in paper then the squirrels are even funner to shoot I mean the best part is head shots only at 50 yards and beyond and well thats pretty small but I would put my Squirrel shooter up against any ones paper shooter any time there is only so much you can do with the guns and then then it all down to the shooters ability if that aint right the best gun in the world will only assist him.....